


sit by my side, rest your head with mine; we’re home

by tealady19



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Recovery, and a small cameo by Hunk, hinted at Sheith, siblings! Komelle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-13 23:48:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20591147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tealady19/pseuds/tealady19
Summary: A soft knock on the door had him lifting his head after a moment.  The room was coded only to paladins and family, other than the staff, but he was still surprised to see Romelle twisting her hands together.  His voice was still raspy and quiet when he greeted her with a softhey.**Post s08e05: The Grudge, Romelle sits with Keith in the hospital as he's recovering (again).





	sit by my side, rest your head with mine; we’re home

**Author's Note:**

> Baby's first Voltron fic aaaah  
I've been in this fandom for almost a year now? And thought it was probably time to post this that's been lingering in my folder forever.
> 
> Friendship fics are my jam, and I love the dynamic potential between Keith and Romelle, hopefully there will be more of those two to come! Also I don't have any self control, so there's a slight dash of Sheith in the background there. You can probably read it as platonic if you prefer.

Keith breathed in, held it for a second, and breathed out. The machine he was hooked up to hissed quietly in the dark.

The mask was doing a good job of re-oxygenating him, and Keith was glad for it - he really was - but he was also just about ready to rip it off and throw the whole thing across the room. It honestly hadn’t been that many phoebs since he’d been in the hospital at the Garrison for what felt like eons, and he was already stuck back in a bed.

The only thing keeping him from walking straight out and sleeping in his own quarters was the heavy head resting in his lap. Golden eyes opened to stare him down whenever he shifted like he was going to get up, and a tail thumped agreeably against the floor when he settled back. The wolf chuffed when he reclined against the pillows, both hands working though the soft fur around his ears, and Keith sighed back at him.

“Guess I’m your prisoner for now, huh.”

The wolf didn’t answer, but snuffled a little closer, pinning his hips a little more solidly to the bed.

Whatever medicine he was breathing through the mask was mixed with something sweet and cooling, which was doing wonders for his aching throat. He’d caught a glimpse of his reflection earlier and hadn’t missed the purpling bruise across his neck. Zethrid’s arm had been almost excruciatingly tight, and impossible to break away from in the poisoned atmosphere, especially atop the volcano. Keith pressed his trembling hands into the wolf’s ruff, recalling the icy fear in the pit of his stomach as he’d watched, helpless, terrified, as she’d pointed her blaster at Shiro.

She’d wanted revenge, she’d said. Revenge on Keith wasn’t killing him.

_He’s safe,_ he tried to reassure himself, keeping his breathing slow and deliberate. _He’s safe. He’s on the bridge._

Shiro had been at his side almost as soon as he’d been able to grab Zethrid’s wrist over the edge of the cliff. The benefit of a floating arm - it had got there faster than the rest of his body, and had locked around Zethrid’s arm just as Keith was sure his grip was going to give out in the face of the heat from below. They’d managed to haul her back up with Axca’s help, Shiro’s flesh arm around his torso to steady him. Keith’s head was swimming by the time they’d pulled her over the ledge, and he’d leaned back against Shiro’s chest, gasping.

It had been a struggle to try to breathe, he couldn't quite catch his breath no matter how deep, or how regular he tried to make it. It ate up his focus until he felt Shiro tapping his cheek with his Altean hand, face drawn in concern as he tried to get Keith’s attention.

“Can you walk? We need to get you inside.”

Not quite able to respond out loud, he managed a nod and pushed himself to standing on wobbling legs. He grabbed Shiro’s metal forearm for balance.

_“Keith.”_

“I’m okay.” His voice was a scrape. Shiro didn't look like he bought it, but maneuvered them towards the ship despite the stubborn expression. They moved slowly as Keith stumbled over loose rocks, and fought off coughing fits.

They’d made it about halfway back to the Atlas before one of Keith's knees had buckled. He'd managed to catch himself, but Shiro’d apparently had enough and just picked him up - despite Keith’s breathless protests - and ran the rest of the way back to the ship. Getting back inside had been such a relief that he could only focus on the way his lungs finally felt like they could work as Shiro hustled them to the medical bay. A few real breaths, and he started to notice the tenseness of Shiro’s shoulder under his head, and the slight feeling of his metal thumb brushing soothingly back and forth over his ribs. The small motion was more comforting than it had any right to be, and Keith zeroed in on it as something more to focus on.

The bustle of the medbay had drawn some of Keith’s attention when they arrived, and nurses hurried over to them, alarmed where he sat in Shiro’s arms. They tried to get Keith to tilt his head carefully back to get a better view of the damage to his neck, and in the process he happened to catch Hunk’s eye from across the room.

“Oh, no, bud,” the yellow paladin was across the floor much faster thank Keith could really register, his oxygen mask abandoned next to Pidge and the other paladins who looked over anxiously. Hunk had managed to do okay due to his size, and he brushed the limp hair off of Keith’s sweating forehead. Keith tried to smile reassuringly at him, but by the wince on Hunk’s face, it didn’t really pan out. Hunk’s hand lingered on the crown of his head for a moment, before falling back as he shifted out of the way of a nurse.

“We’re gonna be okay, y’know? Pidge is probably the worst ‘cause she’s little, but the team’s getting her fixed up.” He glared back at another nurse who looked like they were about to force him back to his own bed. “You always get the worst of it, don’t you?”

Keith tried again for a smile, and felt a little more successful. “’m okay,” he managed to rasp out. Shiro’s thumb rubbed over his ribs again, comfortingly.

“Okay, bud,” Hunk whispered back. “You should rest.”

Atlas had a number of smaller, more private hospital rooms, and Shiro insisted that the dark and quiet of them would be better for Keith’s recovery. The medical team was hard pressed to argue with their stubborn captain and set him up in one close to where the other paladins were resting.

Shiro had been able to stay with Keith for long enough to get him set up in a bed in a quiet, small room, and to see the colour start to come back to his ashen face as the medicine in the mask worked its magic. Shiro kept up a low level of conversation, telling him about some antics the Holt’s dog had got up to the other day, the face he’d spotted Griffin making in the commissary after trying something alien and vibrantly blue, how Veronica couldn't seem to stop giving him teasing tidbits about Lance’s childhood. Keith had smiled at him, trying to pay attention as best he could, and thankful for the distraction. 

He'd had to leave too soon, Veronica paging him from the bridge and telling him they needed to get underway. Shiro had left him with a fond hand brushing the hair back from his forehead, a sad smile quirked on his lips, and a promise to return as soon as he could. The wolf had flashed in as he was leaving and flopped down on top of Keith, a comforting weight in his lap that anchored him to the bed.

They were well into the night cycle now, and he knew he should keep trying to sleep, but his mind kept circling back to the confrontation at the volcano's peak.

_I have nothing left- but revenge!_

Keith squeezed his eyes closed as he clenched his hands again in the wolf’s thick fur, trying to find something grounding. His breaths sounded harsh inside the mask, and the wolf looked up at him again with a questioning whine, sensing that he wasn’t doing a very good job of keeping calm.

“S-sorry, bud.” Keith managed to get one leg out from under the wolf, bending his knee and leaning forward to rest his forehead against it. The mask pushed awkwardly against his thigh, but curling up and blocking out the rest of the world was better than trying to lie down. The dog breath was also a good distraction, he realised with a small, helpless smile, right before getting a cautious lick on his cheek. The wolf had comforted him through a lot of painful memories on the space whale, especially early on when he wasn’t ready for that kind of connection with his mom. Keith managed a shaky sigh, a pained expression and tight throat even with the wet nose poking at him.

A soft knock on the door had him lifting his head after a moment. The room was coded only to paladins and family, other than the staff, but he was still surprised to see Romelle twisting her hands together. His voice was still raspy and quiet when he greeted her with a soft _hey_.

“Hi,” she whispered back, but kept hesitating in the doorway. It took him a moment, but he recognised her behaviour as the same when they’d been sharing the pod in the few days it took to navigate back through the quantum abyss. Like she wasn’t sure if she was supposed to be there. 

The wolf looked up and chuffed a greeting at her, licking Keith’s fingers and prompting him to give her a weary smile. “Do you wanna.. sit down?”

She bit her lip, but moved inside and let the door swish shut behind her. He’d asked for the lights to be dimmed low to avoid any potential headaches - after the crash in Black and resulting head injury, he’d discovered he was more prone to migraines if he wasn’t careful. Romelle managed to cross the short distance in the dark without running into any of the machines set up next to his bed. There was a chair there as well, but the way she chewed on her lip as she glanced between it and the bed...

Keith made a quick decision and scooted a little backwards. Even with the wolf half draped over him, there was still a fair amount of room on the mattress. He patted the spot next to him, silently offering.

She took it. Avoiding the tubes attached to the oxygen mask, Romelle slid in beside him on top of the covers. The wolf stretched out to nose at her leg, and she reached over to scratch him under his chin. For a few moments, the only sounds in the room were the slight hiss of the air machine, and the thump of the wolf’s tail on the floor. Keith watched her, but Romelle kept quiet, chewing on her bottom lip. She’d never opened up about what was bothering her on her own in the pod through the quantum abyss, or when she joined him in his lion on the way to Earth. She’d turn her feelings over and over in an attempt to sort them out by herself, and not burden anyone else with them - they were really similar that way.

After watching her avoid eye contact for long enough, Keith bumped her shoulder gently with his own.

“You okay?”

Her nose scrunched up. “I should be asking you that.” She leaned back against his pillows with a sigh, brows pinched together. “You’re the one who keeps getting hurt. I just have to sit here and worry about you.”

“Sorry.”

Her nose wrinkled further. “It’s not like you do it on purpose. I just..”

Keith slumped back against the pillows beside her, resting his head on them and tilting up to still be able to see Romelle’s face where she sat, still slightly hunched forward. He waited for her to continue, knowing now that she'd started she'd want to get it all out.

“I just feel like I should do more. You’ve done so much for me and I don’t know how to- urgh.” She broke off with an irritated sigh. Keith looked up at her, though she was still avoiding looking him in the eye.

“Do you- do you think you owe me? For what?”

Romelle looked incredulous, and finally turned to look at him. “Of course I do! You saved me! You took me with you away from the colony, you believed me about what was happening. You helped me feel like I'm wanted again.” She smiled softly at his wide eyes and lips slightly parted beneath the plastic of the mask. “Why did you think I always wanted to come back to the Black Lion on our way to Earth? I loved talking to Coran and Allura about Altea and learning about my history, but it felt more like.. home, with you. And Krolia, and the wolf, of course. No one in the colony really liked me, except for Bandor, and I..”

Keith reached for her hand, tangling their fingers together and giving an encouraging squeeze.

“I didn’t think I’d get lucky enough to have another brother.” There were tears in Romelle’s eyes as she laid down beside Keith, their joined hands resting on the pillow between them. “I’ve been really trying hard not to see you as a replacement but.. I think I haven’t done that, and I still feel that way.” She sighed, “sorry, I don’t know if I’m making sense. It’s complicated.”

Keith squeezed her hand, giving her a smile. “S’okay. I think I get it.” He shifted as the wolf snuggled in closer between them. “I love you, too.”

One of the tears slid over the bridge of Romelle’s nose, but neither of them moved to wipe it away. “You have to stop worrying me.”

“Sorry.”

“You’re too important to all of us.”

“I-” Keith’s eyes slid closed as he swallowed. “I’m getting that.”

Romelle’s thumb stroked over his knuckles. “You should sleep. I’ll let you know when your captain comes back.”

“’s not my captain.”

“No?”

Keith tried to argue, but with Romelle beside him and the wolf between them, he was finally feeling the pull of sleep, and he was helpless to resist.

*****

_“Thank you for calling me, Shiro.”_

The captain smiled a little sheepishly, rubbing one hand along the short hair of his undercut as his other floated the datapad ahead of him. “It’s the least I could do. I’m really sorry it took so long to get ahold of you. But the doctors told me he’s going to be okay.”

Krolia smiled back at him through the static of the connection. _“And I’ve told you before, that I trust you to take care of him. It’s true, Shiro, don’t blush about it.”_

She could be unnervingly like Keith, he thought, trying to will the pinkness in his cheeks away (and utterly failing by Krolia’s amused look).

_“We’re enroute to rendezvous with you in the next few vargas regardless; I do want to see him, and we have some updates for the coalition.”_

“Thanks, Krolia, I’ll make sure either Veronica or Curtis keep you in the loop. If Keith’s awake, do you want to speak to him? I’m going to check on him before getting to bed myself.”

_“If? Are we talking about the same grumpy boy who refused to do anything but sit and glare at people and mope around instead of resting the last time he was hospitalised?”_

Shiro almost choked on his next breath, but managed to keep it together. It always managed to throw him how sharp Krolia’s sense of humour was, even when teasing her own son.

He reached Keith’s room before he could say anything else, and Atlas was eager enough to slide the door open for him before he could knock.

It turned out to be a good thing, because through the darkness of the room he could see one golden eye open to glare at him before closing again. The wolf’s large furry body was draped over two smaller figures cuddled together on the bed.

_“Shiro? What is it?”_

Shiro jolted, turning his attention back to Krolia on the call, biting his lips to try not to smile too much at the sight in the room. “Ha, looks like we got it wrong. Hold on, I’ll let you see,” he kept his voice low, tapping the command to change the camera view.

Keith and Romelle were buried under their own wolf-blanket, though she was still on top of the covers. They were holding hands, Shiro could see, and made sure the datapad was angled properly so Krolia could as well. Keith actually seemed to be breathing well, the massive bruising notwithstanding. They looked so peaceful curled towards each other that Shiro didn’t have the heart to disturb them.

_“Oh..”_ Krolia’s soft exclamation had Shiro snapping a few photos before she could ask. _“They look so sweet.”_

Shiro gave the room a quick glance to make sure that everything was okay before slipping back out into the hall. “I’m actually a little jealous she got him to sleep,” he commented. Krolia laughed, before cooing over the shots Shiro sent her.

_“She’s been stuck to his side since we left the colony, though I think she’s been scared of being too much. I’m glad they have each other.”_

“You ended up with two kids, eh?”

She smiled, small and pleased. _“I got so lucky.”_

Shiro smiled back, ending the call with the promise to meet her in the hangar on arrival, and Krolia bade him a good night as he slipped in to his own quarters. He fell into bed, making a mental note to check up on Keith again in the morning, trusting that with both the wolf and Romelle there with him, he’d be well rested and healing in the morning.


End file.
